Whining Noise

[the99kid]

Hi all-new here, but loving the info!

I just bought my first Fiat ('76 124) and in all gears except 4th, there is a noticeable whine from the transmission. Bad Syncros? Something else? What am I looking at to repair... (or do I want to know!). Anything that I can do except total rebuild? I hope so...

Thanks!

[So Cal Mark]

4th gear is direct drive since it's 1:1 so more than likely it's a bearing on the cluster gear shaft

[the99kid]

...is that bad? Sorry, I'm a total newbie here!

[Exit98]

...is that bad? Sorry, I'm a total newbie here!

Might be, but first things first.

Change the transmission oil and keep your fingers crossed.

You might want to change the diff oil and the motor oil too at the same time.

Search the forum for how-to, oil types and tips.

[Dougieb]

I would listen to Exit98.
My '72 Spider had a whine in 4th and 5th gears when I got it.
I changed the transmission and differential fluids and it was much better.
That may not be the problem but do the easy (and cheap) things first.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

Dougieb

[the99kid]

OK, so I went to NAPA and found the GL-1 90W gear oil; $15 a gallon. Had to call 3 different ones to find it in stock, but none the less, found it. Wrestled the filler cap, large drain plug, and small rear drain plug off. Drained out the old oil and found myself humming the song from Beverly Hillbillies "...black gold, Texas tea..."! The oil was black as black. To my surprise, I found little to no metal in the oil! YESSSS!!!! I let it drain for about an hour, recapped everything nice and tight, and now I was left with the problem of putting the new oil back in. So, being late, I didn't have quite what I needed to do this easily, and ended up using an old (from my grandpa) oil can with the squeeze trigger; the kind that you use to oil moving parts...so, 8oz (25 pumps) at a time, I slowly (but very cleanly!) filled her up. One more cap on, all done! Went out for a very nice test drive about 10pm, weather was perfect, and the noise was REDUCED 90%!!!! Success on my first repair! Ahhhhh....that's one less thing to deal with! Time to motor on! New top, new dash cap, and touch-up paint should all be here early next week, and then I'll have a great looking and driving 124! It's a great day!

[Dougieb]

Awesome!
But do not forget the differential.
It probably needs some love and attention like the transmission did.

Congrats on the success!

[tartan18]

Also check the steering box. It sounds like the PO didn't maintain any of the critical fluid levels. Next on the agenda should be completely bleeding the brake system. Ah the joys of Fiat ownership

It does sure feel good when you fix something. Congratulations !!!!